Archive for the ‘Second-coming of Christ’ Category

“And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Acts 1:10-11 (ESV)

What a spectacle these disciples must have beheld as Jesus ascended into heaven! Can you imagine the thoughts running through their minds? Not 40 days earlier their Savior, once thought dead, suddenly reappeared, displaying His victory over the power of sin and death. Now, this same Jesus, having equipped them to continue His ministry in His absence, suddenly ascends into the sky! No wonder they were amazed. Who wouldn’t be amazed at such a display of the glory of God? If His first coming ended like this, what would His second coming look like?

While certainly the anticipation of Christ’s return should be of significance for us, we must heed the warning of the messengers in today’s passage and not become so focused on it that we miss the present. The Lord left us here with a purpose, and that purpose is comprised of so much more than simply trying to figure out when He will return. We are to “proclaim good news to the poor . . . to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Luke 4:18-19 ESV). All of this continued ministry is of course predicated on Christ returning to finish what He started, but our focus must be on building the Kingdom until our King comes to ascend His throne. Dear child of God, be thankful for Christ’s return, but don’t stare in the sky waiting for it to happen. Rather, act and serve as Christ Himself did while He was here.

“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:13 (ESV)

The world, indeed all of creation, is moving toward an end. There is a goal to creation and the Lord is working all things to bring about that desired end. That goal, of course, is His glory and every created thing is meant to reflect some divine attribute that displays more fully the glorious reality of our Lord. As the end draws near in which all things will once again glorify the Lord fully, there will be countless obstacles to the Christian’s participation in building God’s Kingdom, causing some to abandon ship as they decide the cost is not ultimately worth the reward. This abdication of Christian conviction and belief based on the circumstance of their time is a clear indication that these who have rejected the faith never truly had it at all.

The true believer, having been called from death to life, cannot commit spiritual suicide; rather, once he or she has tasted life they will cling to that life ultimately knowing that truly nothing else can satisfy them and that nothing this world offers has any meaning apart from its Creator. How could someone who truly met the Master reject Him? There are those, however, who have been converted in name only, never fully repenting of their sin and therefore never recognizing their great need for and provision from the work of Christ. These people should not make us fear that such apostasy is possible for the true convert but rather remind us of the difficulty of our task and the complete sufficiency of Christ in the midst of that difficulty.

Seek this morning to remember the gospel and your time of true repentance. Remember what Jesus has saved you from and how ultimately He will judge all of creation. Rest in that hope, enduring whatever comes your way, and be mindful of the future, remembering the need of those around you who will neither endure the tribulation to come nor the judgment thereafter.

“Therefore stay awake–for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning–lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” Mark 13:35-37 (ESV)

Jesus is coming again! What an incredible message of hope for us as believers. He has not forgotten us, nor abandoned us. He will come again to finish what He started, and He won’t be coming on a donkey this time! This message of hope for believers is also a challenge to prepare the way of the Lord, continuing the proclamation of the gospel and the building of His kingdom in His temporary absence, for while this truth is a message of joy for us, for those who do not believe, the reality is far more sobering. The coming of Christ will secure a future of wrath for those outside of His grace, meaning that because we are uncertain of when He will come, we should do everything we can to prepare everybody we can until we hear that trumpet sound.

Dear Christian, are you awake to this reality? Or has the urgency of the second coming of Christ disappeared having been distracted by the business of your day to day schedule. Do not be found sleeping on the job. God has given you a purpose in your time here to proclaim His goodness, calling those around you to join in worship. Don’t forsake this glorious purpose and eternal glory for temporary pleasures and vain rewards. Be on guard and stay awake, knowing that at any moment the Lord could return to reclaim His creation fully.

“And he who was seated on the throne said, ‘Behold, I am making all things new.’” Revelation 21:5a (ESV)

Is there a more beautiful promise in all of Scripture than this from the lips of our glorious Sovereign? In this verse, we see the fulfillment of God’s glorious plan for the reconciliation of all things in Christ. Indeed, He will make all things new. In the same way that Christ lived, passed away, and received a glorified body, so too will all things in Christ pass away and be resurrected in glorified form. The earth will pass away but also be made new. Heaven will pass away and be made new. Further, the Lord will restore Jerusalem, His beloved city, and make it a place of meeting that joins both heaven and earth, allowing for fellowship between creation and its Creator, Who will now be with us fully as our God.

The whole of Scripture builds to this moment, as you no doubt have seen through this year together. God created and man fell, but the Lord did not turn His back on us. No! In the midst of our depravity and our descent into darkness, the Lord looked down upon us with loving-kindness and sent His only Son to endure the cross and our shame so that we could be made new.

Hear this today, dear friend: in Christ, you are a new creation; the old has passed away. Do not fall victim to the lies of the enemy, for He has no power over you. Do not fall back into the temptation of fleeting sin, for it has no appeal in the light of God’s glorious grace. Do not lose sight of the glorified Jesus, Who provides for you a glimpse of your future reality and that of all things. You are new; may we live like it as we await the completion of that newness in His second-coming.

“And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” Acts 1:10-11 (ESV)

What a spectacle these disciples must have beheld as Jesus ascended into heaven! Can you imagine the thoughts running through their minds? Not 40 days earlier their Savior, once thought dead, suddenly reappeared, displaying His victory over the power of sin and death. Now, this same Jesus, having equipped them to continue His ministry in His absence, suddenly ascends into the sky! No wonder they were amazed. Who wouldn’t be amazed at such a display of the glory of God? If His first coming ended like this, what would His second coming look like?

While certainly the anticipation of Christ’s return should be of significance for us, we must heed the warning of the messengers in today’s passage and not become so focused on it that we miss the present. The Lord left us here with a purpose, and that purpose is comprised of so much more than simply trying to figure out when He will return. We are to “proclaim good news to the poor . . . to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk 4:18-19 ESV). All of this continued ministry is of course predicated on Christ returning to finish what He started, but our focus must be on building the Kingdom until our King comes to ascend His throne. Dear child of God, be thankful for Christ’s return, but don’t stare in the sky waiting for it to happen. Rather, act and serve as Christ Himself did while He was here.

“But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:13 (ESV)

The world, indeed all of creation, is moving toward an end. There is a goal to creation and the Lord is working all things to bring about that desired end. That goal, of course, is His glory and every created thing is meant to reflect some divine attribute that displays more fully the glorious reality of our Lord. As the end draws near in which all things will once again glorify the Lord fully, there will be countless obstacles to the Christian’s participation in building God’s Kingdom, causing some to abandon ship as they decide the cost is not ultimately worth the reward. This abdication of Christian conviction and belief based on the circumstance of their time is a clear indication that these who have rejected the faith never truly had it at all.

The true believer, having been called from death to life, cannot commit spiritual suicide; rather, once he or she has tasted life they will cling to that life ultimately knowing that truly nothing else can satisfy them and that nothing this world offers has any meaning apart from its Creator. How could someone who truly met the Master reject Him? There are those, however, who have been converted in name only, never fully repenting of their sin and therefore never recognizing their great need for and provision from the work of Christ. These people should not make us fear that such apostasy is possible for the true convert but rather remind us of the difficulty of our task and the complete sufficiency of Christ in the midst of that difficulty.

Seek this morning to remember the gospel and your time of true repentance. Remember what Jesus has saved you from and how ultimately He will judge all of creation. Rest in that hope, enduring whatever comes your way, and be mindful of the future, remembering the need of those around you who will neither endure the tribulation to come nor the judgment thereafter.

“Therefore stay awake–for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or when the rooster crows, or in the morning–lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.” Mark 13:35-37 (ESV)

Jesus is coming again! What an incredible message of hope for us as believers. He has not forgotten us, nor abandoned us. He will come again to finish what He started, and He won’t be coming on a donkey this time! This message of hope for believers is also a challenge to prepare the way of the Lord, continuing the proclamation of the gospel and the building of His kingdom in His temporary absence, for while this truth is a message of joy for us, for those who do not believe, the reality is far more sobering. The coming of Christ will secure a future of wrath for those outside of His grace, meaning that because we are uncertain of when He will come, we should do everything we can to prepare everybody we can until we hear that trumpet sound.

Dear Christian, are you awake to this reality? Or has the urgency of the second coming of Christ disappeared having been distracted by the business of your day to day schedule. Do not be found sleeping on the job. God has given you a purpose in your time here to proclaim His goodness, calling those around you to join in worship. Don’t forsake this glorious purpose and eternal glory for temporary pleasures and vain rewards. Be on guard and stay awake, knowing that at any moment the Lord could return to reclaim His creation fully.